Governor of Jakarta Anies Baswedan on March 20 declared a state of emergency in the Indonesian capital city for the next two week in a bid to curb the spread of the acute respiratory disease caused by novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19).

The Indonesian government has prepared a few scenarios on how Indonesia's economic growth will end up as the COVID-19 pandemic began to hit the country’s economy, said Minister of Finance Sri Mulyani Indrawati on March 20.

Singaporean Minister of Manpower Josephine Teo said on March 20 that job vacancies in the city-state are expected to fall further this year given global uncertainties and impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo said on March 20 that he would use "all state power" to tackle health and economic problems caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Indonesia’s Ministry of Public Works and Public Housing is planning to turn Wisma Atlet Kemayoran, a former athlete village in Central Jakarta, into an emergency hospital to treat people infected with COVID-19, according to an official.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo has ordered massive rapid testing for the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) be carried out nationwide after the country saw a significant rise in the number of infections over a few days.

Foreign visitors who were treated for COVID-19 in Thailand will be able to claim back medical expenses from the country’s hospitals, the Thai Ministry of Finance confirmed on March 19.

Fitch Solutions has revised down Indonesia’s economic growth forecast in 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic places a heavy burden on its state budget and current account and limits Bank Indonesia’s monetary space to support the weakening rupiah.

Thailand recorded 60 new COVID-19 cases on March 19, the biggest daily jump so far, bringing the total in the country to 272.

Only 60 percent of Malaysians complied with the movement control order (MCO) that came into effect on March 18 to cope with the COVID-19 outbreak, Freemalaysiatoday reported.

An increase in the supply of milled rice in the Cambodian market has helped stabilise prices, in the context that the country faces the threat of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Cambodia Rice Federation (CRF) and the Green Trade Company.

Indonesia’s rupiah (IDR) on March 18 touched the lowest level since the 1998 crisis as fears of a global recession over the rapid spread of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) prompts investors worldwide to dump financial assets.

The outbreak of COVID-19 is not likely to cause further closure of garment factories, said Cambodian Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training on March 18.

The Lao Government has suspended the issuance of visas for foreign tourists for 30 days and closed schools at all levels to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith announced on March 18.